Wallet



H. R. HUTCHINSON June 17, 1952 WALLET 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Sept. 29, 1950 FJGL 3 INVENTOR flemzazzfiflzom 716m;

A TTORNEYS.

Patented June 17, 1952 WALLET Herman It. Hutchinson, J enkintown, Pa., assignor to C. F. Rumpp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 29, 1950, Serial No. 187,535

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a wallet, and more particularly to a wallet having conventional compartments for carrying bills, papers and the like and also being provided with separate compartments specifically constructed and arranged to carry individual keys or similar rigid articles of metal or the like.

Wallets have previously been provided having sets of strap attachments for carrying keys, and it has previously been proposed to attach leather flap elements to portions of such wallets so that the keys may be held in position between the strips and the flaps. Other similar types of construction have been employed for the purpose of utilizing available wallet space for carrying individual keys. However these have required the use of extra material which is frequently in the form of relatively costly leather or the like, and this has resulted in a marked increase in bulk whether or not a key is actually being carried in the wallet. Moreover, the auxiliary flap elements have a tendency tocurl or to be deformed to assume a fully or partially open position thereby failing in their primary purpose of retaining and concealing the key. The effect is particularly observed in instances where the pocket is constructed entirely of relatively rigid leather and the tab element consists of an additional piece of leather sewed to the boundary of the pocket.

In wallets of the character previously described, no means have been provided for concealing the keys or the pockets therefor, or for maintaining the pocket flaps in closed position when not in use.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a wallet having a compartment adapted to carry rigid articles such as keys or the like. It is a further object of the invention to provide a combination wallet and key case having substantially the same bulk as a conventional wallet. Another object of the invention is to provide a wallet having a key compartment of such construction that the keys are received and retained therein without substantially deforming the other parts of the wallet. Still another object is to provide a wallet having key compartments including integrally formed flaps and a highly flexible wall element for receiving and retaining the key with a minimum tendency to displace the flap from its normal closed position. It is a still further object of the invention to provide a wallet having a combination including a pocket for carrying keys together with a detachable card carrying element which is constructed and arranged to conceal the key compartment and simultaneously to hold the flap of the key compartment in its normal closed position.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention, including the simplicity and economy of the same, as well as the ease with which the keys may be inserted into and removed from the key pockets, will appear in further detail hereinafter.

In summary, the invention broadly concerns a wallet having back and front cover pieces, said front cover piece consisting of sheet material having out lines defining a flap, and a backing strip of sheet material afiixed to the inner face beneath the flap along lines defining a pocket in said front cover piece.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 represents a front view of a wallet constituting one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 represents a front view of substantially a one-half portion of the wallet shown in Fig. 1, with fastening elements detached and a key disposed in one of the wallet pockets;

Fig. 3 represents a front view similar to Fig. 2, with the card carryin element unfolded and the front strip 30 broken away in order further to disclose important details;

Fig. 4 represents a sectional view taken as indicated by the lines and arrows IVIV which appear in Fig. 2, the key being represented in full elevation; and

Fig. 5 represents a sectional view taken as indicated by the lines and arrows V-V, which appear in Fig. 2.

In the example of the invention selected for illustration in the drawings, the key carrying elements are arranged on the front left-hand face of a conventional wallet. However, it will be understood that the wallet shown and described is merely representative of one preferred embodiment of the invention which is applicable to a wide variety of wallets and not limited to the particular construction shown herein.

Having reference to the annexed drawings, the wallet has a conventional bill compartment formed by the outside cover l0 and zipper partition l I which are attached together around the top and side edges by stitches l2. The conventional slide fastener 13, mounted on cloth backing I4, is attached to partition II by stitching 15, providing means for opening and closing the bill compartment.

The leather piece forming the outside cover It! is retroverted to form the integral front cover It and once again retroverted to form the integral spacer strip I! disposed between outside cover It] and front cover IS. The free end l8 of spacer strip 11 is slightly above the bottom edge of the wallet (see Fig. 4).

Disposed between spacer strip I! and front cover 16 is the sliding stay 20 consisting of a separate piece of leather stitched to the front and outside covers atone side edge of the wallet. Sliding stay 20 terminates along a line spaced from the other side edge of the wallet and is attached thereto by means of a muslin strip (not shown).

At one end the front cover has a free edge 2| free of attachment to sliding stay 20 or the other wallet elements, and at the opposite end isa notch 22 providing a free edge 23 which is also free of attachment to sliding stay 20 or to the other wallet parts.

The face of front cover I6 is out along the lines 24 to provide a pair of spaced pocket flaps 25 which are formed integrally with the front cover 16. Such flaps normally lie in the same plane as front cover 16 but maybe lifted manually by applying force in the direction as indicated by the arrow (a) which appears in Fig. 3.

A rectangular strip of cloth 26 or other flexible material preferably carrying thermoplastic impregnant is sealed to the back surface of front cover piece I6 along lines defining the contours of the key pockets which are aligned with pocket flaps 25. Such sealing is preferably-effected by pressing'ahotdie against selected portions'of the impregnatedcloth, as indicated, when the wallet is in blank form. Othersealing or aflixing methods, such as stitching .or the like, may be employed.

The cloth 26 is thinner and much'more flexible than the relatively thick and stiff leather portions of the wallet and is readily deformed after being applied to the leather thereby forming pockets of minimum bulk specificallyconstructed for reception and retention :of rigid articles such as key 21' Without tending 'to displace the tabs '25 from their normal zclosed positions.

A pass case :or card;carrying element having a front strip 30 and integral back :strip 3| is removably attachable .to the :wallet. Back strip 3 l is adapted for sliding fit between frontcover piece 16 and sliding staylnrbehind the-cloth strip 26. The passcasehas a-leathertab '32 adapted to pass through the openingafforded by notch 22 when the back strip 31 is in such position. Tab 32 carries a button'type fastener element 33 which forms a fastener together with the snap peg 34 Secured to the pass case by means of stitches 35 is a pass holder or window 36 of relatively stiff construction. Window 36 is desirably formed of one or more sheets of transparent plastic, glass, or the like.

It will be appreciated that the pass case represents only one example of readily detachable element having capacity to be attached in position with respect to the front cover piece 16 and having a leather strip element in immediate contact with the front face of the flaps 25. Further it will be appreciated that the construction and arrangement of the flaps, flexible backing strip, and front cover piece as well as the other portions of the wallet may be modified without departing from the scope of the invention, producing .a wallet having .the advantages of minimum thickness and lack of bulk without sacrificing strength. All such modifications, including reversals of parts, the substitution of equivalent elements, and the use of certain elements independently of the use of others, fall Within the spirit andscope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus defined the invention, I claim:

A wallet having back and front cover pieces, said front cover piece having an open portion at one end, part of said front cover piece comprising an integral flap thereon, a-backingsheet forming a pocket aligned with said flap, said flap being movable away from said front cover .piece to open said pocket, and a foldable case attachment having front and back wall portions, said back wall portion being disposed behind the front cover piece and having a tab extending through the open portion at the end thereof, and said front wall :portion being disposed in front of said front cover .piece and carrying a snap fastener adapted to be fastened to said tab to thereby secure the foldable case in position while covering said flap and bearing upon said flap to maintain it in closed .position.

HERMAN R. HUTCHINSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

